January 21, 1933 - Dominick D'Ingeo's Death Certificate

This is the death certificate of Dominick/Domenico D'Ingeo, my great-great-grandfather, Grandpa's maternal grandfather, and the father of Grandma Gatto, Maria D'Ingeo Gatto. He's listed as 70 years old, widowed, and a gardener. [Grandpa's always told me his grandfather was a gardener.] He was born in Italy and says he's been in the United States for 15 years - which gives him an arrival date of around 1918; his actual immigration was in 1917. [I love when they get the numbers right like that. It's such a relief to have relatives who can add!]

His Italian-born father was named Vincent, but his mother's name is unknown.

He died Jan. 21, 1933 of shock, fractured ribs, and a hemothorax. According to the next page of the death certificate, he was hit by a car at 81 St. and 14 Ave the day prior to his death.

The undertaker was employed by the deceased's son "James" D'Ingeo. James's full name, I believe, was Vincenzo, after his grandfather. [See this message board thread for a discussion of - but no conclusion on - why so many Italian immigrants named Vincenzo were called Jimmy or James.]

Grandpa tells me he remembers his grandfather, and remembers when he died, but couldn't go to the funeral because he had the mumps at the time.

Harold Mulvaney Death Notice

MULVANEY—On Aug. 25, 1933,

HAROLD, beloved son of Julia
Toner Mulvaney; brother of Mrs.
Stephen Kessell, Mrs. John Daniels,
Mrs. Joseph Mulcahy, James, captain
New York Fire Department,
Hook and Ladder Company, No. 20;
Thomas, fireman attached to Hook
and Ladder, No. 109. Funeral Tuesday
at 9:30 a.m. from his residence,
270 Van Brunt St.; thence to the
R. C. Church of the Visitation,
where a requiem mass will be
offered. Interment Holy Cross
Cemetery.

Harold Mulvaney's Obituary

I found a site that searches PDF versions of later editions of the Eagle than are available at the Brooklyn Public Library's digitized site. Because they're PDFs, I can't post the actual images, but here's the text of Harold Mulvaney's obituary from 1933:

MULVANEY—On Aug. 25, 1933,
HAROLD, beloved son of Julia
Toner Mulvaney; brother of Mrs.
Stephen Kessell, Mrs. John Daniels,
Mrs. Joseph Mulcahy, James, captain
New York Fire Department,
Hook and'Ladder Company, No. 20;
Thomas, fireman attached to Hook
and Ladder, No. 109. Funeral Tuesday
at 9:30 a.m. from his residence,
270 Van Brunt St.; thence to the
R. C. Church of the Visitation,
where a requiem mass will be
offered. Interment Holy Cross
Cemetery.

August 26, 1933

Sorry for the long break in posting. I was home and busy with Christmas-y things. Here is Harold Mulvaney's Death Certificate from August, 1933.

STATE OF NEW YORK

Department of Health of the City of New York

BUREAU OF RECORDS

CERTIFICATE OF DEATH

Registered No.: 17288
1. Place of Death: Borough of Brooklyn
No.: Pier 5, Robbins Dry Dock
Character of Premises: East River
2. Full name: Harold Mulvaney

Personal and Statistical Particulars
3. Sex: Male
4. Color or Race: White
5. (Marital Status): Single
6. Date of birth: [blank]
7. Age of decedent: 28 yrs
8. Occupation
a. trade: Machinist’s
b. industry: Rigger
c. No. years so occupied: [blank]
9. Birthplace: United States
9A. How long in US (if of foreign birth): [blank]
9B. How long resident in City of New York: Life,
Parents of Deceased
10. Name of father of decedent: Patrick
11. Birthplace of father: U.S.
12. Maiden name of mother of decedent: Julia Toner
13. Birthplace of mother: U.S.
14. Usual residence: 270 Van Brunt Street

Medical Certificate of Death
15. Date of death: August 28, 1933
16. I hereby certify that the foregoing particulars (Nos. 1 to 15 inclusive) are correct as near as the same can be ascertained, and I further certify that I have this 26 day of August, 1933, taken charge of the body of the deceased found at Morgue, and that I have investigated the essential facts concerning the circumstances of the death.

17. I further certify that I have viewed said body and from autopsy and evidence, that he died on the 26 day of August, 1933, at 12:30AM., and that the chief and determining cause of his death was Drowning. ACCIDENT. And that the contributing causes were [none].

Signature: G. [Mouiluiel]
Assistant Medical Examiner

Approved: Charles Morris, [--]
Chief Medical Examiner

18. Place of Burial: Holy Cross Cemetery
Date of Burial: Aug. 29, 1933
22. Undertaker: Joseph Redmond, Undertaker
John J. Redmond, 2190
Address: 476 73rd St.

MEDICAL EXAMINERS’ RETURNS

The Department of Health may, from time to time, make rules and regulations fixing the time of rendering and defining the form of returns and reports to be made to said department by the office of the chief medical examiner of the City of New York, in all cases of death which shall be investigated by it; and the office of the chief medical examiner is hereby required to conform to such rules and regulations.—Sec. 1203, Chap. 466, Laws of 1901, as amended by Chap. 284, Laws of 1915.

It shall be the duty of the next of kin of any person deceased, and of each person being with such deceased person at his or her death, to file a report in writing with the department of health within five days after such death, stating the age, color, nativity, last occupation and cause of death of such deceased person, and the borough and street, the place of such person’s death and last residence. Physicians who have attended deceased persons in their last illness shall, in the certificate of the decease of such persons, specify, as near as the same can be ascertained, the name and surname, age occupation, term of residence in said city, place of nativity, condition of life; whether single or married, widow or widower, color, last place of residence and the cause of death of such deceased persons, and the medical examiners of the city shall, in their certificates conform to the requirements of this section.—(Sec. 1238, Chap. 466, Laws of 1901, as amended by Chap. 284, Laws of 1915. In effect January 1, 1918.)

Accident, suicide, or homicide? Accident
Date of injury: August 26, 1933
Where did injury occur? Pier 5, Robbins Drydock
Manner of injury? Accidental fall overboard
Nature of injury? Drowning

TO UNDERTAKERS

1. No burial permit can be obtained without a proper certificate.
2. Certificates must be written through in black ink.
3. No certificate will be accepted which is mutilated, illegible, inaccurate, or any portion of which has been erased, interlined, corrected or altered, as all such changes impair its value as a public record.

I hereby certify that I have been employed without any solicitation on my part or that of any other person as undertaker by Julia Mulvaney the mother of deceased. This statement is made to obtain a permit for the burial or cremation of the remains of deceased Harold Mulvaney.

Signature: Joseph Redmond, undertaker
John J. Redmond, 2190

April 13, 1933

Here's my transcription of William Mulvaney's death certificate:

A. 58521

State of New York
Department of Health of The City of New York
Bureau of Records
Standard Certificate of Death

1. Place of Death:
Borough of: Brooklyn
No.: 270 Van Brunt St.
Character of premises, whether tenement, private, hotel, hospital, etc: Tenement*
Registered No: 8548

2. Print Full Name: William Mulvaney
3. Sex: M
4. Color or Race: W
5. [Marital Status]: Single
5A. Husband or wife of: [blank]
6. Date of Birth: 1900
7. Age: 33 yrs
8. Occupation: None
9. Birthplace: US
9A. How long in US: [blank]
9B: How long resident in City of New York: Life
10: Name of Father: Patrick Mulvaney
11: Birthplace of Father: US
12: Maiden Name of Mother: Julia Toner
13: Birthplace of Mother: US
14: Special INFORMATION required in deaths in hospitals and institutions and in deaths of non-residents and recent residents: Usual Residence: [blank]
15: Date of Death: April 13, 1933
16: I hereby certify that the foregoing particulars (Nos. 1 to 14 inclusive) are correct as near as the same can be ascertained, and I further certify that I attended the deceased from Jan 1 1930 to April 13 1933, that I last saw him alive on the 12 day of April 1933, that death occurred on the date stated above at 12:10 AM and that the cause of death was as follows: Encephalitis Lethargica, duration: Life.
Contributory: [blank]
Operation?: [blank]
State kind: [blank]
Duration: [blank]
Witness my hand this 14th day of April 1933
Signature: William A. Burke, MD
Address: 377 Sterling [illegible]

17. Place of Burial: Holy Cross Cemetary
Date of Burial: April 15th, 1933
18. Undertaker: Joseph Redmond [illegible]
John J. Redmond 2190
Address: 476-73rd St.

I hereby certify that I have been employed, without any solicitation on my part or that of any other person, as undertaker by Julia Mulvaney - 270 Van Brunt St., the mother of the deceased. This statement is made to obtain a permit for the burial or cremation of the remains of deceased William Mulvaney.
Signature: Joseph Redmond [illegible]
John J Redmond 2190


*A tenement, officially, was defined by the city as a building with 3 or more apartments, and does not necessarily imply the negative connotations that come along with the word. Trump Towers, technically, is a tenement. I can't testify to the condition or nature of 270 Van Brunt, but keep that in mind. (I learned that in class this semester - Museum school teaches you loads of real world stuff!)

So we know that William died at home, and that his death wasn't sudden; if the doctor had been there the day before, they certainly knew something was wrong. I'm very interested in Willie's cause of death. I've looked up Encephalitis Lethargica, and it's not something you were born with. If Willie had had it his entire life, he must have simply acquired it young. (No one's sure what causes it, but there are theories that it's a complication of the flu, or a reaction to a severe strep infection.) It was epidemic, worldwide, in the early '20s, and wasn't identified or named until 1917. I haven't been able to find information on how prevalent it was before the epidemic, but it's been pretty rare, though existent, since them. I'm wondering how he was diagnosed with this illness early enough for it to have been considered lifelong, if it wasn't identified until he was in his late teens. Do we have any doctors in the family? I'd love to know more about the specifics. I also wonder whether it may have been the case that, when Encephalitis Lethargica was prevalent, it may have been "the next big thing" in medicine and was overdiagnosed to encompass other, unidentified and undiagnosed illnesses? The symptoms of Encephalitis Lethargica could include anything from sore throat and double vision to a come-like state, behavioral changes (especially in young children), and progressive Parkinson-like symptoms. Symptoms sometimes resolved and sometimes left people permanently disabled, physically and/or mentally. What we know about Willie, or think we know about Willie, is that at 10 years old, he couldn't speak, and at 20 he could speak, but not read or write. It does seem that what affected him could have been Encephalitic Lethargica, if he were nearly comatose as a child, or didn't have the muscle control to speak, and if these conditions kept him out of school as a child, he may not have ever learned to read or write, even if some of his conditions eventually resolved enough that he was able to learn to speak.

Because Encephalitis Lethargica is rarely seen these days, I can't find information online that offers detailed descriptions of what it actually entails, what life looks like for the victims, or how serious it would have been, or how it could have killed people who had lived with it for years.

What do you think? Does anyone know anything about Willie that might give us insight into his life or his condition?

Information Overload

I'm absurdly busy, have 3 pages of a paper on the Korea Gallery at the Museum of Natural History to write tonight, a twenty-minute presentation to prepare for Wednesday (which I can't start until I'm done with the paper, work, and class tomorrow). Do you ever wonder if our ancestors were this busy?

However, I am very excited to take a break to report that when I got home from my Thanksgiving break, I found 3 death certificates waiting for me in the mail. They belonged to Mary Madigan Mulcahy who died April 11, 1927, William Mulvaney, who died April 13, 1933, and Harold Mulvaney, who died August 26, 1933.

I'm having a little bit of trouble deciphering the handwriting on Mary Ann's and William's (Harold's is typed). I suppose I'm not overly interested in how Mary Ann died, though I'd like to know and will try to figure out what it says. Willie's and Harold's being the more mysterious deaths, of young men, I'm much more interested to know the circumstances thereof. It seems that Willie died of Encephalitis Lethargica, though my first reading of the word doesn't bring quite that. (It looks more like "encefihalitis" to me, but as far as I can tell, that is not something that exists.) According to his death certificate, its duration was "life." I did some cursory googling, and have yet to find anything that clearly states the symptoms of Encephalitis Lethargica and how it would affect young children, but it was not something you were born with, so I doubt it truly lasted for his entire life, though its onset may have been when he was quite young. It also doesn't seem to have affected intellect, but mostly behavior and muscle control, so I'd venture a guess that Willie's inability to speak at age 10, and inability to read and write at 20 were not the marks of a mental deficiency but of a physical or behavioral one that may have, among other things, prevented his attending school.

Harold died at Pier 5, Robbins Drydock, in the East River. He was 28 and had been a Machinist (like his father before him, we know). His cause of death drowning due to an accidental fall overboard. I've heard that there were suspicious circumstances surrounding Harold's death, and what might reinforce that here is that his death was recorded to have occurred at 12:30 AM. That would have been just after midnight. I can't imagine upfront circumstances that would have him at work on the pier in the middle of the night, but I also can't tell from the death certificate whether he died immediately or was possibly pulled from the water only to die some hours later, in which case he could have fallen overboard at 2 in the afternoon and died some 10 hours later at 12:30 AM. It is, I'd say, almost equally likely that, like so many, the good doctor who filled out the death certificate was confused about how AM and PM apply to the times around noon and midnight.

I'll try to transcribe the actual certificates when I get around to it, as well as dialogue about the effects the deaths and illnesses may have had on their (our) families and and try to decipher all of the remaining handwriting (I'm thinking Mary Ann's cause of death may read "pyelonephrosis" which is apparently "an obsolete term for any disease of the pelvis of the kidney"). First, though I've got papers to write! Wish me luck!